//------------------------------// // Mashing All The Wrong, Or Maybe Right, Buttons // Story: Super Mare-io Odyssey: A Story Untold // by Cool_Quick //------------------------------// "Button Mash, why did you hit this... creature? You could have severely hurt it!" "Mom, I had to!" "You didn't have to do anything! You and your schemes are going to give someone a concussion!" Said that a little late, I thought, feeling like I'd had just that. My head felt like it was underwater, and my body felt like it suddenly had no gravity. Then with a jolt, gravity returned, and I felt the cold hard feeling of a wood floor smoosh my face like a living pancake. I made a sound like a kitten that was suffocating, and my feeling of weightlessness turned into feeling like I had the weight of a boulder. And my head felt like a Thwomp had taken a nap on it. The voices awkwardly faded, and fast hoof clopping ensued. It drew closer. Finally, a mare with a brown mane and a twinkle in her blue eyes appeared in the doorway. She rushed forward and helped me up. "Are you alright sir?" she asked. "Can the world slow down a bit?" I asked, feeling like a top. She sighed with relief. "At least you're conscious," she said. "My son," she emphasized "son" with a bit of an edge that I remembered from my mom. The edge which basically means "He's in deep trouble." "My son decided to smack you in the head, and bring you here like he's capturing someone in a spy movie. I swear one day..." her voice trailed off. "It's alright Ms..." "Love Tap." She extended a hoof, and I missed it. The world was still spinning around. "Button Mash?" she said louder. "Come in here and apologize!" Slowly, a small colt shuffled into the doorway. He was the small brown colt with the propeller hat I'd seen at my welcoming party. When I said so, he smiled awkwardly. "Heh, yeah. I overreacted a bit." "A bit?" his mother asked, raising an eyebrow. Button thought for a second. "Maybe a bit more than a bit. But, I'm sorry for hitting you in the head." Then he suddenly gave a very long drawn out sigh of relief. "Whoo, got that done. Bye!" And he sprinted out of the doorway, and less than two seconds later I heard a crash, followed by "I'm okay!" then a door slamming shut. It was my turn now to raise an eyebrow at Button's mom. "He's probably playing on his games again." "What are some of his favorites?" I asked. "Well, he loves playing 'Super Mare-io Odyssey.'" Real clever pony pun on my name, I thought with a mental eye roll. "Madam," I said. "That's a game based on me." I drew myself up a bit. "And it's pronounced 'Mario.'" I reached up for my hat, and then remembered I didn't have one. Cappy was still back at Twilight's, since he didn't come to Fluttershy's. And they must all be quite worried about me now. Let them worry, an inner voice said. "Mind if I see what your son is playing?" I asked. Love Tap was still recovering from the shock of talking to a video game character, so she kinda squeaked out "Sure. By all means!" I tried not to fall over as I stumbled like a drunk elephant out of the room and up the stairs. Boy, climbing stairs while dizzy feels like trying to climb stairs on a ship in the middle of a storm. Fun. It probably took a good couple of minutes before I finally made it to the top. Button's room was right at the end of the smaller hallway, and I put my ear to the door. I could discern my own voice, followed by Button saying "Come on Mare-io!" "It's pronounced 'Mario.'" I said for the second time in five minutes as I came in. Button whipped around to see me. His propeller began to spin, and his eyes widened. "Breathe..." I said, trying to be as calming as possible. Button started breathing like a train going 90 miles an hour through a straightaway. "Slower..." Button slowly began going slower. At last, he seemed to calm. "Sorry," he said again. "Still hard to believe I'm actually talking to you!" He got right in my face. "Are the games accurate to what really happened to you? Where's Cappy? Are you chasing Bowser?" "Whoa, whoa, whoa," I exclaimed, making a time out sign. "One at a time." Button sat down, silently staring at me. When I didn't start immediately, he said "Come on! My hooves are itching." He gestured towards his Nintendo Switch. Wonderful choice I thought. You certainly are making this story very interesting in many ways, Mr. Author. Hey, how can you see me? It's called the magic of Equestria, I suppose. Okay, well this conversation is weirding out the people reading this. You'd better get back to Button. He's looking pretty itchy. Here we go again. I cleared my throat. "First off, yes. Some things about the games are exaggerated, but not a whole lot. I'm pretty sure it might have been luck, but I am pretty cool." Way to ham it up, Mr. Big Shot. This is my story, author. Buttons' eyes widened. "Cool!" Yes? He's not calling you. Oh... I'm gonna go now, before I cause a bunch of dislikes. "Yeah. And to answer the next one, he's at Twilight's. I... kinda forgot him." "You forgot...?" Button looked really confused, then he started laughing. I saw the humor of my own stupidity, and laughed too. Finally, Button stopped laughing, and suddenly said "What about Bowser?" I stopped too. "He's got Peach. Only this time, it's more than that. I'm just not sure what." "I know," Button said. He pulled out the "Mare-io Odyssey" cartridge after saving his game, and read it like he was a palm reader at the local circus. "He's planning to take over every kingdom. One at a time, until he rules the entire universe." "Sounds typical." Button gave me an awed look. "You're so casual about this." "I'm used to him making drastic plans." "Well," Button said. "There's even more." He gave me a sad look. "You may be the one overreacting to this news." "What is it?" I asked. "Well, at least according to my game, Bowser plans to marry Peach. It's official in fact. They will be married in seven days." My heart suddenly seemed to flop into my stomach and digest there. My mouth opened and closed like a suffocating fish. "I... I... no... Peach wouldn't... I couldn't..." "Breathe..." Button said, trying awkwardly to pat me on the shoulder. Oh the irony, I thought, remembering just a minute ago when I'd said the same thing to Button. I recovered, and started feeling an emotion I hated feeling. Hopelessness. "I can't let this happen," I breathed. "You can do it Mare-io... Mario. Sorry. You always do." I tried to give a confident smile, but on the inside, I felt dead. Was my luck starting to run out at last? Would this adventure of mine be my last? "Button!" his mom yelled from downstairs. "Time to eat supper!" "OKAY!" Button yelled. Boy, that colt had a powerful set of lungs. "Excuse me while I regain the use of my ears," I said to myself. "Care to join us?" Button asked. Before I could even open my mouth to respond, he grabbed me by the arm. "Too late, you're coming." Well, I thought as I felt my arm scream in pain from his surprisingly strong grip. This will be an interesting evening.